Hunting the Innocent
by Auphora66
Summary: ON HIATUS! Brady imprints on his best friend; happily ever after, right? Wrong. First off, her dad is one of the hunters that seeks to kill the pack of horribly large wolves who have been blamed for hurting people ...FULL SUMMARY INSIDE! BradyxOC.
1. Promise

**Fourth fanfiction!! Whoot! If you haven't read, my other fics, I think you should. They're all imprint fics, supporting the characters Leah, Paul and Collin. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Twilight series -Stephenie Meyer does!!**

**Summary: **Thirteen year old Brady imprints on his best friend, happily ever after, right? Wrong. First off, her dad is one of the hunters that seeks to kill the pack of horribly large wolves. Secondly, she doesn't like that he is keeping secrets from her -something that he had sworn he would never do. And thirdly, she doesn't know he loves her and the possibility of her returning his love will disappear entirely if she discovers that he is a wolf. Personal agony aside, people are getting hurt and the protectors of La Push are being blamed. Brady is going to have to find the real culprit; whether it is friend or foe, family or stranger.

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**-Brady-**

"_Brady?" Kaylie asked, fidgeting with the hem of the blanket._

"_Yeah?" I replied, turning onto my side to face her. She was facing me, lying on her side as well. Half of her face was hidden by the pillow._

"_Let's never have any secrets from each other, promise?"_

"_Promise." I agreed without hesitation, although I was curious what caused the spontaneous deal._

"_You won't keep anything from me?"_

"_Nope." I assured her. I had nothing to hide. _

"_Good, then I won't keep anything from you," she said, sounding relieved._

"_Promise?" I asked._

"_Promise." Kaylie agreed, holding out her pinky. I shook her pinky with my own; sealing the promise._

"Of course I remember our promise!" I told her exasperatedly. "We made that promise when we were eight."

Kaylie and I were standing in her living room, and I had to mind my head with the ceiling fan/light. Her house was my second home; we've been friends since third grade. It was only in this recent month that I had grown _several_ inches, casting me a freak in the eighth grade world. On the positive note, I wasn't the only freak; Collin was the same age and the same height as me; nearly six feet tall.

Unlike me, the house hadn't changed. The living room was the first room you saw when you went through the front door; blue carpet, light blue walls, and furniture that should have been replaced a few years ago -it all held precious memories.

More than a few years ago, Kaylie and I were bouncing from the couch to the chair and back. Once upon last year, we were preparing for Halloween, and a pumpkin gut war busted out; Kaylie ran into the living room from the dining room in hopes that I wouldn't follow her. Kaylie's dad, Mr. Hollanders, wasn't happy to find pumpkin on the walls. No matter what Kaylie claims, we both know that I so totally won that fight. The midnight blue carpet held a history of spilled drinks, crumbs, and mud -the vacuum being it's only friend.

"Then how come you're keeping a secret from me?" Kaylie demanded, her brown eyes flashed angrily. Half of her face gave off a milky glow from the moonlight that flooded through the window, while the other half was lit my artificial light. "You've been acting really strange lately; you haven't been calling me back or anything!" she looked like she was going to cry, tearing my heart into pieces, but then her expression turned hard. "I heard from Tasha that you've been hanging out with the La Push gang, _please_ tell me that you really aren't hanging out with those guys."

I glued my eyes to the floor. I wasn't allowed to tell Kaylie anything, Sam had made that very clear. It felt like a knife had gone through my chest; it was the feeling of betrayal, sharp and unforgiving.

"Brady," she said, requesting my attention with her melodic voice. Of course, she wasn't aware of how nice her voice was. Then again, she didn't have the werewolf hearing to appreciate the sound.

I moved my eyes slowly up to meet hers.

Kaylie seemed average to those who glanced at her, but for me, who has had years to look at her, knew that she was gorgeous. Her sleek black hair framed her face and was layered in a feathery way, bouncing lightly whenever she moved. Her russet skin was unblemished and smooth; I've always wanted to feel the texture, but never dared anything more than her hand. Her eyes were deep pools of brown, reflecting the passionate person that Kaylie was. The top of her head was a few inches short of my shoulders. Her body was slim; her curves were in small proportion. She was a little underweight, but she was far from unhealthy.

I had told her that she was pretty in fifth grade once, when a guy in her class had called her ugly. The kid had showed up at school the next day with a black eye, saying that he had tripped. He never did go into much detail of the incident whenever someone asked. It was a pleasant memory of mine.

"Tell me what is going on," she said firmly.

"They're my friends." I said quietly.

Kaylie's eyes went as wide as dinner plates. "So the rumor is true!" her tone portrayed her surprise; she hadn't thought the rumor was true. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, hurt by my secrecy.

Painful guilt thrashed inside of me. "I-It's complicated." I stuttered out. It was like walking on eggshells whenever I was around her. It was only a matter of time before I broke her or broke our friendship. Either one would be worse than death.

"Explain it the best you can." She was stubborn when she wanted information, details.

"It's not really my secret to tell, Kaylie." I said with a sigh. God, I hated this.

She ran a hand through her silky black hair, obviously frustrated. Her lips were pursed, her eyes were narrowed.

"I'm sorry." I murmured. "If I could tell you I would, you know I would."

Kaylie's face softened. "Okay."

Relief flooded into me; I pulled her into a hug. I breathed in her sweet scent, allowing it to wash away my stress. I was content to stay like this forever, with her in my arms. Whenever things got rough, we at least had each other.

She wrapped her arms around my waist, and patted my back. She said something against my chest, but I couldn't tell what she said. My heart thudded against my rib cage when my nerves alerted my brain of the movement of Kaylie's lips on me through my thin shirt.

I've had a crush on her for the longest time, and I was positive that I loved her. The whole imprinting thing only made me a little more aware of her than I already was. However, my status as her best friend didn't feel like it was going to change anytime soon. I didn't want to risk our friendship by saying anything. Although, it had been tempting to confess my feeling when our classmates had begun playing the dating game.

I loosened my arms and stepped back a little. "Kaylie, I don't speak mumbling, could you repeat that?"

Kaylie laughed. "I said that you're like a boa constrictor."

I let her go and jumped back as if I had been electrocuted, I had to put some distance between us before I hurt her again. My head then hit the ceiling fan/light, breaking the glass coverings for the light bulbs. "Crap." I hissed, ducking down so I didn't break anything else. My eyes instantly went to Kaylie, terrified that the glass had hit her.

Kaylie looked like she was going to cry -if a tear leaked out, I was going to be damned and broken.

I picked her up and set her down on the couch in one fluid movement. "Oh my god, Kaylie, what hurts?" I asked quickly; panic bubbling up in my chest. "I'm so sorry." I added without conscious thought. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to her. My entire being pleaded to whatever great entity that existed to make Kaylie unscathed.

"I'm okay," she squeaked, her eyes were watering but no tears spilled over. I couldn't smell any blood in the air, so I accepted her word. Relief eased my tense muscles. "But what about you?" she asked, choking on a sob.

"Me?" I asked, not understanding.

"Your head."

"Huh?" her reply wasn't registering through my roller-coaster of emotion. "Oh! I'm fine Kaylie." I assured her when I had finally put it together. "I didn't get a scratch on me."

She wiped at her eyes and then glared at me. "You scared the bejebeez out of me!" She would have swatted at me if I was in her reach.

"Aw, I'm sorry, Kaylie." I apologized, taking a seat next to her. I smiled sheepishly at her, hoping that I was forgiven.

Kaylie's eyes trailed back to the glass covered carpet. "We should clean that up before my Dad gets home." Her shoulders were hunched over sightly, a clear sign the she was still slightly upset with me. I wasn't too worried about it, Kaylie had never been the type to stay angry for long.

"_I'll_clean it up." I said, getting to my feet. "Since I'm the one that broke it." I added when Kaylie opened her mouth to protest.

She stared at me, trying to force her will on me through her eyes. When I didn't budge, she finally warned, "Don't cut yourself."

This cracked a smile from me; it took some self-control not to laugh. Even if I _did_ get cut, it wasn't like it was going to be there for long. "I won't." I assured her. "Could you grab the vacuum for me?"

The black-haired beauty jumped to her feet, happy that she would get to help in some way, and disappeared from sight. I quickly kneeled down on the floor and picked up as many pieces as possible. I only got scratched a few times, and each time the injury was gone in a second.

By the time Kaylie returned with the vacuum, most of the glass was in the garbage and I was sitting on the couch patiently. She plugged in the vacuum and stubbornly vacuumed the carpet -after she checked my hands to be sure that I hadn't cut myself. When the vacuum was put away, we eyed the fan with a sense of dread. Mr. Hollanders had installed that fan himself two years ago, claiming that it added a little extra to the weary room.

"My dad is going to shoot you." Kaylie said.

She had _no_ idea. The pack -myself included- always had to be careful when her dad was out. Despite that fact that it was illegal to hunt wolves, Mr. Hollanders had received a specific license that allowed him to kill a wolf if it was as big as the rumors claimed. At first, everyone had thought it was bears that lurked in the forest threatening people, only to examine the prints more closely and find -to their horror- that they belonged to large wolves. Of course, we were the protectors of La Push -we would never harm someone. Well, okay, maybe we would if they got too close while we phased, but it wasn't like we would do that on purpose or anything. Nevertheless, Mr. Hollanders was really good at shooting a gun and setting traps. The pack had been pretty lucky so far.

"Maybe your dad won't notice." I said, my voice full of false hope. Mr. Hollanders was the kind of guy that noticed everything.

Kaylie raised an eyebrow but said nothing, knowing that I really didn't believe it myself. She flopped down on the couch and sighed.

I sat down next to her, causing the couch to squeak and the cushions to sink. "What's up?" I asked, unsure what her sigh meant.

"I'm just…worried about you."

I waited for her to continue, knowing that she just needed a little bit of time to prepare her explanation.

After a good minute, she said, "Those guys from the La Push gang are older than you and -no offense, but a little arrogant. I'm worried that they're going to rub off on you or something. When me and my dad were shopping, we overheard some gossip about how some of the members sneak out at night to do who knows what. I know you wouldn't do drugs, or smoke, or drink or anything like that, but if that's what they're out doing, _please_ don't hang out with them anymore."

It had been difficult to not interrupt her, but I knew that she just needed to get it off of her chest. "Kaylie, I promise you, they aren't doing any of that. All they're doing is hanging out in the woods and the beach."

"But why would they sneak off to do that, and make their parents worry? And wouldn't they get sick of each other from hanging out so much?"

I smiled, I couldn't help it. "Yeah, they get sick of each other sometimes. Don't worry, these guys are good people. Really." And girl -Leah could be a good person once in a blue moon.

"That one temperamental guy doesn't seem very nice."

My smile turned into a wide grin. "That's Paul, he isn't so bad. Yeah, he has anger issues, but he isn't _mean_."

"Oh. What are the others like?"

"There's, like, nine other people excluding me. How about I just tell you their names."

""Kay."

"There's Collin, Seth, Sam, Jacob, Quil, Embry, Paul, Jared, and Leah."

"Some of them have strange names." Kaylie observed.

"Don't let them hear you say that." I chuckled. "Quil and Embry will gang up on you."

"Sounds like you know firsthand."

"I will admit that I couldn't help but tease them one day."

Kaylie rolled her eyes. "Good job, Brady. Way to make friends."

"Oh yeah, I sure know how to treat 'em."

We smiled at each other. Sarcasm was a fun thing to use.

"Hey, you two," said a deep voice from the doorway.

We both looked and saw Mr. Hollanders taking the shotgun's sling off of his shoulder. We both knew that it was already unloaded and that the safety was on.

"No wolves?" Kaylie asked, since that was the usual outcome.

"Actually, I saw one."

Kaylie's eyes bugged out of her head and her breathing halted.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," he waved absentmindedly with his gun free hand. Kaylie resumed breathing. "I'm going to have to go the ranger's station to report an animal attack though."

"Oh my god, you found someone in the woods?" she asked quickly, panic tinged her voice.

"Actually, the wolf tried to attack me, but I was able to shoot it in the shoulder and it ran off." Mr. Hollanders shrugged. Kaylie gasped and I just stopped breathing altogether. There had to be some kind of misunderstanding -a mistake! "It was _huge _though, like the size of a horse -maybe bigger," he said in awe.

"What color was it?" I asked weakly.

"Silver."

Paul.

Rage burned inside me, and my frame started to shake. "I gotta go." I stood up from the couch.

"Are you coming back later tonight?" Mr. Hollanders asked, wondering if he had to lock the doors or not.

I shook my head. There was a soft sound on the floor. I looked down and saw a shard of glass. I picked it up quickly.

"Was that glass coming out of your hair?"

"Mm." I replied, not really answering his question. "See you." I said to Kaylie, and then I left the house using long strides.

Paul was going down.

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**Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this. Please review and let me know what you think!! Criticism is accepted!!**


	2. So Dead

**A/N: Phew. With school, a social life, and three other fics I'm not able to update as often as I would like. I am so sorry!! You will hear more of my guilt in the next author note.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer does.

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**-Brady-**

I didn't dare phase near Kaylie's house.

Mr. Hollanders would see my paw prints, and I didn't want to add on to my list of growing problems. I jogged to Seth's house; it was the closest pack member's home to Kaylie's. I walked in without knocking; I was a regular guest here.

"Hi Sue." I greeted the small woman sitting on the sofa in front of the television. The room was spotless, and I knew that the rest of the house was too. I knew from Seth's thoughts that she spent her days keeping herself occupied; trying not to sit and let herself think _too_ much.

"Hello Brady," she replied tiredly not looking very surprised at my sudden arrival -despite the late hour. There were dark circles under her eyes and her hair was tangled. I wished there was something I could do to help, but I had no idea how.

"I see that you've been neglecting your housekeeping duties." I said, turning my nose up in the air.

My joke got a chuckle out of her, and for a split second, I forgot about my anger towards Paul. Sue Clearwater was wearing a small genuine smile; something that wasn't all that common for her lately. "Seth isn't here," she informed me, her voice colored with warmth.

I forced a smile on my face, remembering why I was here. "I know. I need to use the phone." I knew that no one was out patrolling; they were all at Sam and Emily's eating…at least, that is where Paul should be if tonight had been a peaceful night.

Sue stood up, alarm on her face. "What happened?"

I guess my smile looked more like a grimace. "It's, uh, personal…sorta."

She hesitated for a second, probably debating whether to press the issue, but then she gestured for me to go ahead.

I entered the kitchen and picked up the phone up off of the table. I dialed Sam's number. Ringing…more ringing…

"Hello?" answered Emily, sounding a little confused. I could hear laughter and loud voices in the background.

"Hey, Emily, it's Brady." I said, trying to keep the anger out of my tone.

"Is everything alright?"

The background voices went quiet. I sucked at hiding things.

"Is Paul there?" I asked tersely, avoiding her question.

"Paul?" she repeated, puzzled.

"Yeah."

"Sure, do you want me to put him on the phone?" she asked.

"No!" I said quickly. I didn't want Paul to get angry while he was _inside _the house….why was he even at Sam and Emily's anyway? Shouldn't he be getting the bullet out of his shoulder? Emily sounded fine when she answered, so I knew that the pack wasn't acting as a medical team for the moment. "Hey Emily?"

"Yeah?"

"Does Paul look hurt?" I asked quickly. "Did he complain about his shoulder at all?"

I heard yelp of surprise, a growl from Sam and then Paul was on the phone. "What do you want, kid?" he asked, sounding annoyed.

I hesitated and then I disconnected, ending the call. Mr. Hollanders wouldn't _lie_…right? I couldn't see any reason why he would. But everything sounded so normal…I didn't want to start a fight with Paul unless if I was _positive_ that he had tried to attack Mr. Hollanders.

Only one way to find out.

I set the phone onto the receiver where it belonged and left the Clearwater household, giving a quick wave of goodbye to Sue.

I ran to Emily's, my breathing as even as a metronome.

Paul was waiting for me outside. He stopped pacing as soon as he caught wind of my scent.

I reached him soon enough, but it was felt far too early. Anxiety was constricting my lungs.

He had way more fighting experience than I did. Against his pack brothers and against vampires.

All I've ever done is done laps around the reservation.

Not cool.

I shifted my weight from foot to foot, unable to figure out where to begin.

"Well?" he asked, impatient with my silence.

"Have you seen Mr. Hollander today?"

Paul raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. What of it?"

I sucked in a breath and panic was escaping into my bloodstream. "When?"

Paul crossed his arms. "What does it matter?"

"It matters a lot!" I said hotly, my hands balling up into fists. My body shuddered.

"Whatever, kid." Paul said coolly, unaffected by my temper.

Why couldn't he be like that _all _the time? Must have had a good day or something…

"If it'll get you to stop acting all weird," Paul said, putting his hands in his pockets. "I saw him maybe…an hour ago?"

I swallowed the bile rising up in my throat. My muscles were coiled, ready to attack at the slightest provocation. They were warm and ready to _fight_.

"Did he shoot at you?" I asked, forcing out the question.

Paul laughed.

That was all the provocation I needed.

I phased and lunged at him; my lips pulled back to reveal my sharp teeth, my caramel hackles stood on end, a growl ripped from my throat.

Paul phased into a silver wolf and easily dodged.

He was faster.

He was bigger.

And by all means, I knew he was stronger. -But I didn't care about that right now.

He had threatened Mr. Hollanders and I was going to make him _pay_!

I landed neatly on my feet and spun around, ready to play offensive again.

Paul heard my threat, and a growl rumbled in his throat sounding like thunder.

I involuntarily curled my tail between my legs, fearing the sound, but resisted lowering myself to the ground. I sprung at him again.

He crouched and sprung too.

We collided with jaws wide with daggers, but I lost the dominance easily. I didn't have enough weight to bring him down to the ground in midair.

He came down on top of me and pinned me, placing a suffocating paw on my throat.

"_I don't like that you're assuming that I attacked him just because I happened to see him walking home on my way to Sam's!" _he raged loudly in my head, a snarl tearing the through the still air. His paw pressed harder down on my neck, his ears were flat against his skull.

I squirmed, trying to break free. _"Get _off_ of me!" _I snarled, barely able to breathe.

Paul didn't move. He just snapped his sharp teeth an inch away from my nose in warning. _"Know the facts, kid, before you start blaming people. You got that?"_

"_Yes! Now get your paws off of me, I can't breathe!"_

He got off of me and his ears perked forward, amused that my use of "paws" was in literal sense.

I scrambled to my feet, relieved that I could breathe.

"_Now," _Paul began, sitting on his haunches. _"What is your deal with me and your imprint's dad?"_

"_He said that a large silver wolf tried to attack him and that he shot it in the shoulder."_

Paul growled and my muscled jerked, still not quite used to the scary noise. "_That's ridiculous." _Paul said irritably._ "I think Daddy-o is making up stories so he can keep his daughter out of the woods with you, and his special license to hunt wolves."_

"_Paul, that's-."_

"_-a logical reason," _he said, not letting me get my two cents of arguing in. _" Face it, Brady, if there aren't anymore sighting of wolves, people are just going to assume that it was just a false rumor and the license will be revoked. He has the motive, kid."_

My ear turned backwards and flattened. Paul made a good point, but that didn't mean I liked it.

"_Whether you like it or not doesn't matter. The truth is what it is -that's life."_

"_I guess so." _I replied quietly, averting my eyes to the ground.

Paul nudged me with his shoulder, nearly knocking me down.

"_Opps, sorry," _he apologized. His ear swung to the side as he watched me level myself. _"We need to tell Sam…but first, let's grab some clothes. Oh, and you _owe_ me, by the way. If it hadn't been for _you_, my clothes would have survived."_

I couldn't help but snigger. I doubted that his clothes would have survived anyways because Paul and clothes didn't work together harmoniously. All the clothes he had left were the ones he had borrowed from Sam already.

Paul nipped at my tail and I let out a yelp of pain.

I jumped back from him where my tail was out of harms way, my ears curled back. _"Ow! You didn't have to bite me!"_

"_You instigated it." _he growled, a few sharp teeth visible. He flicked his tail at my nose and disappeared behind the corner of the house, heading for the room where Sam kept spare clothes for us, should we ever need them.

I followed but gave him some space.

He wasn't happy with me.

Even without the shared thoughts I could see that. Although his tail was held at a dominant high, it was unmoving. His hackles were bristled. His ears were folded back slightly. His movements were stiff. -I used to have a dog; I knew the language even before becoming one.

My ears turned backwards and my tail sank, guiltily. He had every right to be angry at me -I blamed him and attacked him. And to top it off, I had insulted him.

I hastened my pace to get closer. I nudged his side with my nose. _"Sorry, Paul."_

He didn't respond, but his ears lifted and directed themselves more to the side.

That was enough for me.

"_So did you want me to buy you a new pair of pants, or-?"_

"_-You're a sap, kid."_

I was about to take back my apology but I had noticed his tail was wagging and his ears were forward.

I decided to let the sap-thing go and just be thankful that he wasn't angry at me anymore. I trotted along beside him, and nudged him with my shoulder…effectively making him bump into an innocent tree.

Okay, so maybe I hadn't let the sap-comment go.

Paul nudged me back playfully, amused that I was avenging my honor, and I stumbled into the house. The plastic covering made a cracking noise and I quickly dashed away from it, startled.

Paul and I exchanged a glance.

Oh man, Sam was going to throw a fit!

We were so dead.

**A/N: I AM SO SORRY!! I have kept you guys waiting way too long, and I am deeply sorry. I know that this chapter wasn't very long, but I wanted to leave it off in a light atmosphere to make up for my horrible behavior. Thank you so much to those that reviewed, I really appreciated it. Love you all! **

**-Auphora66**


	3. Sharing

**A/N: I apologize about the long wait, I've been busy….I will probably continue to be busy thanks to set building for my school play and the ACT coming up….I am not discontinuing this or any of my stories -it'll just take a while to update. I hope you enjoy this chapter despite the long wait!!**

**Oh, and none of my fics are related. **

**And it is summer vacation in this fic, so they don't have to worry about school. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the any of the characters from the Twilight saga, Stephenie Meyer does.

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**-Brady-**

Oh the irony.

The Pack and I avoid hunters all the time. Yet here I was, sitting in a room -next to Kaylie- taking a hunter's safety course. Mr. Hollander had insisted…okay, not really. He didn't have to insist, because I agreed once he offered to sign me up. You don't argue with Mr. Hollanders because you won't win.

"Psst!" Kaylie hissed quietly. "Brady!"

"Yeah?" I whispered back.

"What's a 'tourniquet'?" she asked, reading the word off of the definition sheet that we were supposed to be filling in.

"Um…'a device used to stop severe blood flow; use may cause later loss of limb'." I read.

"Thanks," she said, copying it onto her paper.

"Oh hey, did you get 'magazine'?"

Kaylie smiled at the word. "Yeah…hang on," she said, flipping through the packet. "It's the part of a firearm that stores extra ammunition…You didn't get that one? It was, like, one of the first ten he mentioned."

I shrugged and wrote the definition down.

"What a 'hull'?" Kaylie asked.

Without a missing a beat, I replied, "Oh c'mon, Kaylie. That was, like, one of the first ten he mentioned."

"Oh shut it, Brady," she hissed, giving me a light shove with a smile on her face.

"A 'hull' is a shotshell case." I answered.

Kaylie wrote it down and then turned to the next page, she then giggled, "'Slug' is on here!"

"Mm-hmm, it's a heavy lead projectile for shotgun ammunition used for hunting big game species." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I had to swallow back the panic in my throat. The Pack would be considered big game. I already knew that, but sitting in a room with a bunch of future hunters somehow made it stunningly clear that one of my pack brothers could _die_. Sure, we could heal quickly but we weren't invincible; a shot to the head or heart would probably prove that.

"Okay everyone, listen up please," called the hunting instructor. When the people quieted down, he continued, "We're going to go to the shooting range. When we get there, we will review firearm safety and then we will practice loading the gun and things like that. Grab your jackets and let's go."

Kaylie and I stood and slid our coats on, happy to have abandoned the monotonous work of vocabulary. We shuffled out of the room with the other people and soon enough we were out in the fresh air. I took a deep, cleansing breath and let out a sigh of relief. That room had been awfully stuffy.

"You haven't called." Kaylie accused softly.

"Sorry, I've been-."

"Busy, I know. -Busy hanging out with your new friends doing God knows what," she said bitterly.

There was an awkward silence; it continued until we were a hundred yards from the shooting range. "I'm sorry." I apologized, breaking the uncomfortable quiet.

"Why did you leave like that?"

I gave her a questioning look.

"Last week. You were at my house and you hit your head on the fan and broke the light covers, remember?"

"Sure, sure."

Kaylie stared at me for a long second and then said, "Where did that come from?"

"Did what come from?"

"The 'sure, sure' thing. I've never heard you talk like that." Kaylie clarified.

"One of my friends says that." Cough-Jake-cough.

"Oh…so why did you leave?"

"I, uh...," had to tell Sam that your dad shot a large silver wolf -who wasn't Paul. "I had planned to eat at a friend's house that night."

"You never mentioned it," said Kaylie.

"Yeah, well, you seemed upset enough as it was without me bringing them up."

"We promised no secrets."

"I'm telling you now, aren't I?"

"Yes, but only _after _I asked you!" Kaylie heatedly pointed out.

"I didn't know it mattered." I shrugged.

"Well it _does_ matter -especially when you pretend that I don't exist!" she hissed.

"What are you talking about? Of course you exist!"

"Then how come you aren't acting like it? How come you never call or visit anymore?" Her words pierced my frustration like a surgical knife to skin.

Guilt surged out and I nearly pulled her into a hug; instead, I took hold of her hand. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I should have at least called you."

She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the hunter instructor calling out, "Gather in a single file line!"

Kaylie wrinkled her nose into a mocking sneer, directed at the instructor's back. I laughed. My laughter was rewarded with a smile.

Then I remembered something. "Hey Kaylie."

"Hey what?"

"I'm hanging out with my friend, Collin, later. You're welcome to come too."

"Okay," she readily agreed, sounding much happier. "I'll have to ask my dad though."

"Maybe you should just say that you're going to my house."

"Aren't we?"

"No, we're going to his."

"Then why-?"

"-Because your dad will say no."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do." I said bluntly. Mr. Hollanders would never let Kaylie out of the house if he knew that she was going to another guy's house who wasn't me.

Kaylie smirked. "Do you know the lottery numbers as well?"

"Of course."

Her smile grew. "And do you know how many stars are in the sky?"

"No," I scoffed. "I can't count if I can't see them…stupid clouds."

Kaylie laughed.

"You two-," the instructor called. "-pay attention."

The both of us looked down at the ground, simultaneously feeling guilty and about to burst into a fit of laughter.

--

"So, how was it?" Mr. Hollander asked as we climbed into the car.

"Good." Kaylie replied automatically.

"What about you, Dandelion?" he asked, his eyes on me through the rear-view mirror. The hunter chuckled when I scowled at him.

I despised that nickname; it had come to be when I started to 'grow like a weed'. "It was fine." I replied.

"What, no details?" he asked in mock anger.

I shook my head.

He smiled and his gaze returned to the road. "You two will have your hunting license in a week, are you guys excited?"

Kaylie nodded eagerly. "I'll be able to shoot a robber if one ever tries to break into our house!"

Mr. Hollander shook his head with a smile catching the corner of his mouth. "Honey, if a robber ever tries to break into our home; let me handle him, okay?"

"But what if you're not home?"

"Then run out of the house and have someone call the police."

"What if the robber sees me and stops me?"

"Darling, the crime rate in La Push is very low; I highly doubt that you'll ever have to face a robber."

Kaylie accepted her father's words with a nod.

"Just remember that you _never ever _use a gun against someone unless they are purposely trying to hurt you or someone else." Mr. Hollanders said in a stern voice. "And when I say hurt, I mean something that could pose as a threat to your life."

"Okay, Dad." Kaylie said softly.

"Did ya catch that, Brady?" he asked.

"Yes, Mr. Hollanders."

"Good. -Oh, I just remembered: I need to talk to you later."

"Um, how much later? Kaylie and I were hoping to hang out at my house later…?"

"That's fine. Are you spending the night?" the hunter asked his daughter.

Kaylie glanced at me through the rear-view mirror. I nodded. Her eyes returned to her father's face. "Yeah."

"Don't forget to grab some extra clothes in case you end up staying another night." -Something that she and I have been prone to do.

"Okay."

"I want you home by Sunday; you have a room to clean, missy."

"Aw, but Dad! It's not even that messy!" Kaylie complained.

"Oh good, it won't take you very long to clean then. You also need to vacuum and dust up there."

Kaylie groaned.

I bit back a laugh.

"You think messy rooms are funny, Brady?" Mr. Hollanders asked, turning on me now.

I shook my head, fighting the urge to laugh hysterically. Kaylie's technique of cleaning consisted of shoving things under her bed and in her closet; it was one of her deepest and darkest secrets (towards her dad, anyway).

Kaylie turned around in the passenger seat. "Don't you dare laugh."

And of course, I laughed.

The car slowed down and pulled into the gravel driveway. The small two-story house needed a paint job. The railing that ran alongside the stairs needed to be tightened into place; it wobbled when you put pressure on it. The grove of trees near the house needed to be trimmed. -None of these flaws bothered me; they only established a unique comfort that could only be described as 'being home'.

I unclicked my seat belt and was about to open the door when Mr. Hollanders ordered, "You stay here, Brady." He then turned to Kaylie, "Why don't you go inside and get packed? We'll be here waiting for you."

She gave him an odd look, glanced at me, and then proceeded to exit the vehicle. I watched her walk further away and then disappear into the house. I looked back to Mr. Hollanders. "You wanted to talk to me?"

The hunter nodded. "Yes. From now on, I don't want you and Kaylie to sleep in the same bed." I had become friends with Kaylie when I was five. Her dad had let us share her bed because it was big enough (full sized), and because he didn't want me sleeping on the couch because it would interrupt his ability to watch tv late at night.

I opened my mouth to protest, but all that came out was a soft, "Okay, Mr. Hollanders."

"You do know why I'm bringing this up, don't you?"

My face heated. "Yes."

"Really?"

Jeez, he was actually going to make me explain his reasons? "You're afraid I'm going to get her pregnant." Sex ed had been a required class last year.

Mr. Hollanders laughed. "Sort of, but that wasn't exactly what I was going for. I'm bringing this up because you both are already too old to be sharing."

I nodded to show that I had understood.

"Besides, you have a crush on her -I can't make things _too_ easy for you," he said in a light voice with an underlying serrated edge.

My face burned and my stomach dropped. I had never really feared Mr. Hollanders as a person, but I was quickly reconsidering. Then a thought came to mind and it put a bitter taste onto my tongue. "Did you sign Kaylie up for the hunting course just so she would know how to use a gun…for, uh, you know…defense?" against me?

Mr. Hollanders just laughed and smiled.

I took that as a yes and asked, "Then why did you sign me up too?"

The hunter stopped laughing. "She said she wouldn't take it without you. And then I was also hoping you would go hunting with me once you got your license."

"What about Kaylie?"

"I have a feeling that she isn't too interested in shooting animals."

Thank God for that.

On the other hand, I wasn't so sure I wanted to shoot animals either…but it wasn't like I had a dad to do things like that with. And then there was the added bonus of bonding time; the more he likes me the less likely he'll shoot me. Good plan. "Sure, I'll go hunting with you, Mr. Hollanders."

"Scott is fine."

Whoa, first name basis. Score! I grinned, "Sure, Scott, I'll go hunting with you."

"Good, good."

And then the car was quiet except for the hum of the engine. I wracked my brain to think of something to say; I was afraid he would reopen the topic of my friendship with Kaylie. "So, um, did you report that animal attack from last week?"

"I sure did. Me and a few of the rangers tried to follow the trail of blood but it disappeared suddenly."

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah, it got to the road and -poof- it was gone."

Normally, I would have chuckled at Scott's usage of 'poof', but my mind was circling the new information. Sam had decided that we shouldn't patrol for a while; not while the hunters were going to be out and angry. So for the safety of the Pack, the investigation on the mysterious wolf was to be put on hold.

Kaylie came out of the house with a red duffle bag in hand. She closed the door behind her and hopped into the car. "Okay, I'm packed, let's go."

Mr. H- I mean Scott- changed gears while Kaylie and I put our seat belts back on.

"So, what did you guys talk about?" she asked, turning in her seat to face me.

"Hunting." I replied. Not the complete truth….I'll have to tell her about the bed issue later. Ugh.

"What about it?" Kaylie pressed.

"When I get my license, we'll hunt together."

"I wanna go!"

I saw Scott smile. Was this his plan to get his daughter to go hunting with him? To bring me along? Clever. And annoyingly manipulative. Well then…

"Really?" I asked in a surprised tone. "I thought you liked animals."

"She likes them cooked too." Scott added.

"Dad!" she scolded, swatting him on the shoulder.

"It's true," he shrugged.

"I don't know if it's your kind of party, Kaylie." I said, my voice cased in concerned warning. "I mean, you have to tag the animal, and gut it, and-."

"Ew, that's enough. Stop."

"So do you still want to go hunting?" I asked.

"Only if I don't have to watch the gutting."

Scott laughed. "Deal."

Epic fail; so much for getting Kaylie to _not_ go hunting. Scott wins. I probably shouldn't have bothered; he always wins.

--

"Sorry, man, I'm grounded."

"I guess that means you aren't up to sneaking out and crashing my place, huh?" I asked.

"No…they've started to check my room to make sure that I'm still in here."

"Jeez, maybe you should just tell them."

"No way." Collin refused. "They'll disown me if they find out."

"Paul's mom didn't disown him." I pointed out.

"She practically did: they don't even talk anymore."

"Oh yeah, that's right."

'_Collin, it's time to get off the phone,'_

Collin let out a sigh, "Okay, Mom…Let me know if Sam says anything about continuing patrol, okay?"

"Sure thing. Did you want me to stop by later?"

"I thought you said that Kaylie was spending the night?"

"She is."

Collin quietly thought it over and then replied, "Nah. I'll meet her when I'm not grounded. You two have fun."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome," he said before disconnecting.

I turned to face Kaylie who was sitting patiently on my bed, disappointment curling up in my chest. I had really wanted Kaylie to meet Collin, my other best friend. "I guess we're just going to hang out here tonight. Collin's grounded."

"Why is he grounded?

"He snuck out so we could hang out."

"Why didn't he just tell his parents?"

"Because it was midnight."

"Brady!" she reprimanded. "You shouldn't be getting him in trouble!"

I gave her a sheepish smile.

She rolled her eyes. "What am I going to do with you?"

"You could…watch a movie with me?" I suggested, my mood lifting.

Kaylie smiled. "Alright. What did you want to watch?"

"Um….I don't know. Let's see what I have."

--

Three and a half movies later it was time to go to bed. Mom would have told us to go to bed a half a movie ago, but she had been working late.

We brushed our teeth and then I was kicked out the bathroom so she could change into her pajamas. I went into my room and put on a baggy pair of pajama pants with a white sleeveless shirt. I sat down on my full sized bed in wait. What am I going to tell Kaylie about sharing the same bed? I didn't have much time to contemplate; Kaylie strolled on in wearing shorts and a tank top.

"Why are you wearing that?" I asked, wondering if she was out of her mind. It wasn't warm enough for shorts (at least to the normal human being, it wasn't).

"Because you're a furnace," she replied, her tone telling me that it was obvious. She crouched down to stuff her dirty clothes into her duffle bag.

Nervousness coiled in the pit of my stomach, and I wished that I didn't have to say anything. "A-actually, I was thinking that we shouldn't share the same bed anymore."

Kaylie paused in her movements and turned to me. "Why?"

"I mean, don't you think that we're getting too old to be sharing the same bed?" I asked anxiously.

"Nope," she responded simply. "Do _you _think so?"

"I, uh…um…yeah."

Kaylie's eyes narrowed, "Did my dad tell you to say that?"

Oh man, right on the dot. I nodded.

"What else did he say?"

"Um, nothing really."

"Brady."

"Really! That's all he said." I said, my hands up in an innocent gesture.

She watched me for a moment and then went back to stuffing her clothes into her duffle bag. "Well too bad for him."

My hands dropped into my lap and I began to fiddle with the hem of my shirt. "Uh, Kaylie, I think we should listen to him."

She stood up and walked over to the bed and sat right next to me with her eyes downcast. After a couple dragged-out seconds, she said softly, "Okay, if that's what you want."

My throat tightened and I swallowed in hopes of loosening it. I looked down too and say that her skin had morphed into gooseflesh.

"I, um, mean when we're at your house we should listen to him. Now let's get under the covers before you freeze."

Kaylie smiled and crawled into bed with me. When she cuddled against me, I nearly jumped out of my skin; she was cold!

"You're cold."

"You're hot."

I didn't say anything.

She elbowed me in the ribs, "You know what I meant; don't let your ego get too big."

I smiled.

I felt a shiver go down Kaylie's spine. She twisted so that she was facing me and snuggled up close, desperate for heat.

"Toasty?" I asked.

She grabbed my arm and moved it so that it was settled on her waist. "Yep. Now I am."

Mr. Hollanders was going to kill me….I'll just have to hope that Kaylie will grow out of this.

* * *

--

-Three Years Later-

--

"Brady."

"Mm." I mumbled tiredly, not even bothering to open my eyes.

"Brady."

"What?"

"Get up!" Kaylie commanded, her hands shoving against my chest.

I didn't budge. "Why?"

"Because I wanted to go to the shooting range today!"

"Just go without me." I said sleepily, slurring a little.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't get up with your arm trapping me."

"Oh." I opened my eyes and saw that Kaylie was trapped; my arm had snared her waist and pulled her close to me. The proximity was nice; she was soft and smelled good. I wished that we could just lounge like this all day…I reluctantly released her and she rolled out of bed. I pretended to close my eyes and go back to sleep but I actually watched her through my eye lashes.

She was crossing the room in a shirt and shorts, exposing more russet skin than her usual wardrobe. "Hey Brady, I'm going to borrow some of your clothes."

"Why bother bringing clothes if you're just going to steal mine?" I asked, more coherent than a few seconds ago.

"Your clothes are comfortable."

"And they're huge on you."

"That's why they're so comfy."

"You never returned my last pair of jeans."

"Sorry, I haven't gotten around to washing them."

"At least bring back the belt."

"It's not like you use it."

"Touché."

I heard my closet open. "Ooo, I didn't know you had this."

"What's 'this'?" I ask.

"I'll show you if you open your eyes and sit up."

With a groan of complaint I sat up and rubbed at my eyes. When my vision refocused I saw that she was holding up a dress shirt and a tie clinging to a single hanger.

"Oh that was the one that I wore to Sam and Emily's wedding."

Kaylie was smiling. "I like the tie."

The tie had Dracula on it. It was supposed to be funny, except Sam hadn't agreed with me; he made me take it off.

"Sam didn't."

"Why not?"

"He, uh, doesn't like stuff like that."

"Yeah, he is kind of serious, isn't he?"

"Eh, I not really." I shrugged. "He's loosened up a lot."

Although Sam's still uptight about the other-wolves-thing. He gets tense whenever someone brings it up. But he's not the only one; all of us are uncomfortable with the Other Pack. They cause trouble often enough to keep the hunters on edge but not enough to get caught. And as result, our movements are restricted. Fortunately, there hasn't been any bloodsuckers around (except for the Cullens but they don't count much). We have yet to communicate with the Other Pack; we can't track their scent unless we're wolves (our human form can't distinguish between our and their pack), and we can't travel as wolves. Kind of a problem.

"I have to disagree with you on that one." Kaylie said.

"Sam's just serious when you're around."

"And why would that be?"

"You're just not a funny person, I guess."

She threw the shirt at me, hanger and all.

I caught it and threw back a grin.

"Be nice." Kaylie scowled, the corner of her mouth twitching to curve into a smile.

"Why should I be nice? You're stealing my clothes."

"Because I'm your best friend, that's why."

Her words wrapped around my heart and squeezed it painfully. It was so hard to love her so much and not be able to express it. If only she didn't like me as a friend, but something more.

"Sure, sure." I replied.

"I'm going to hurt Jacob if you say that one more time." Kaylie threatened.

I smirked, feeling better at her sad attempt to stop the habit, "Go right on ahead and try."

Crossing the room, she rolled her eyes. She opened up a drawer and pulled on a pair of my jeans over her shorts. Then Kaylie hopped back to the closet (the pant legs were way too long for her) with a firm hand keeping the jeans up. She retrieved a belt and threaded it through the loops and tightened it to the right length around her hips. Then she bent down and started rolling up the pant legs.

"You're going through an awful lot of trouble."

"They're comfy."

"So you said. You know, most girls trouble themselves for the sake of fashion."

"I'm not most girls."

I snorted, "I won't argue with you there."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"What do you think it is?"

Kaylie threw another article of clothing at me. I caught it easily, just like the first.

"Go back to sleep."

"Well _now _I'm not tired."

"Oh good. Then you can come with me to the shooting range."

Even with the ear-protection I'm going to be half-deaf by the end of the day. Hooray.

**

* * *

A/N: If anyone has any ideas for this story, let me know (I already have some plots in my head but there needs to be some transitional stuff). If you think that I rushed and should keep them thirteen longer, I'll go back and edit this chapter. ****Please review, they make my day!**


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